Battle Buddies
by Major Riza Elric
Summary: General Grumman organizes a training mission, gathering some of the best soldiers in the military to practice their skills but is that his only goal?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This story is AU, Hughes is alive, Al is restored, and Ed is alive but still has his automail. Also, Ed is twenty years old in the story.

Chapter 1

"Today is a beautiful day here in Central City, sadly it is spent behind this desk full of paperwork, don't you agree, Colonel Mustang?" General Grumman said as he crossed his fingers and leaned his chin upon his hands.

"Completely, sir." Mustang said as he stood in front of the General's desk.

"I'm glad you agree, Mustang." General Grumman said with a slight smile. "I have just the solution to this problem."

"Problem?"

"Yes, being trapped inside." Grumman said as the smile spread across his face.

Roy waited silently for the General to continued but when he didn't Roy spoke. "What would the solution be, sir?"

"A mission."

"A mission? For me?" Roy asked shocked.

"Yes, you." Grumman said as he unlaced his fingers and turned his chair to face the window. "And a couple more hand-picked soldiers."

"Who are the other soldiers, sir?" Roy asked praying that the soldiers would be competent.

"Its all in this file for you. You will be commanding officer for this mission though there will be a higher ranked officer in your party. I trust that you will be able to handle this mission with no problems." General Grumman said as he turned back from the window and picked up a file off his desk before presenting the file to Roy.

The colonel took the file. "I'm confused, sir." Roy said as he stared at the manila folder in his hand. "How does this solve the problem of being inside on a nice day in Central?"

General Grumman laughed. "You will be spending a lot of time outdoors with this mission, soldier. I only wished I was not required to be here so that I could accompany you."

Roy sighed. "Thank you sir. When do we start the mission?"

"You are to be on a train tomorrow at noon."

"But I have a date tomorrow night." Roy said with a frown.

"You'll just have to reschedule then," Grumman said. He then turned back to the window and stared longingly outside at the perfect sunny day. "You're dismissed, Colonel."

"Yes Sir," Roy said with a salute before turning and exiting the office.

As he walked down the long corridor he open the file to read it. He quickly read through it to find the summary. "Colonel Roy Mustang will be the commanding officer of a group of 14 soldiers that are to take a train to West City, from there take a train to Pendleton and from there travel North to the border of Creta to form an outpost. The goal of the outpost is to gather information of Creta, watch for Creta spies, and guard the border from illegal passages between countries. The unit will consist of the following soldiers, ranked lowest to highest: Private Sheska; Warrant Officer Vato Falman; Sergeant Denny Brosh; Master Sergeant Kain Fuery; 2nd Lieutenant Maria Ross; 2nd Lieutenant Jean Havoc; 2nd Lieutenant Rebecca Catalina; 2nd Lieutenant Heymans Breda; Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye; Major Edward Elric; Major Miles; Major Alex Louis Armstrong; Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes; General Olivier Mira Armstrong." Roy paused after reading the names. "I'm not sure I like the way this sounds, I'm going to be trapped with a bunch of idiots." Mustang sighed and looked up to see that he was at his office. Now was as good as time as any to tell the crew they would be shipping out.

Roy entered the office to see Hawkeye waiting for him inside the door. "General Grumman wanted me to give you these, sir. He said you would know what to do with them." Riza handed Roy a large stack of manila folders.

"Thanks, I have an announcement so rally the troops." Roy said as he carried the stack of folders back to his desk, where he dumped them, before sitting down in his chair. He closed his eyes for a couple of minutes, thinking to him self that he should have quit the military years ago.

"Sir." Riza said loudly, to get the Colonel's attention. Roy opened his eyes to see his crew lined up before his desk.

"I have an announcement, crew. No complaining about any of this, it's not going to make any of us happy." Roy said as he sorted through folders. "We have a mission."

"A mission, Boss?" Havoc said as his cigarette dangled frown his lips.

"Yes, a mission. We are being shipped to the West." Roy said with a sigh. "And we ship out tomorrow at noon."

There was shouts of protest from the crew, but none were louder than Edward's. "But, Colonel, I just got my brother restored, I'm suppose to be going on leave to spend time with him and Winry, I can't go on a mission."

"We've been given orders by the General so your leave will just have to wait, Fullmetal." Roy said with a sigh.

"What's the mission, Chief?" Breda asked with a smirk.

"We're are being shipped to the Creta border to form an outpost." Roy said as he picked up his manila folder. "I have the reports for each of you here."

"Colonel, what is the point of this mission? Creta hasn't been a threat for a while now, this mission seems odd." Hawkeye said with a frown.

"Honestly, Hawkeye, I have no idea what the General has up his sleeve this time." Mustang said with a frown. "I'm sure he has everything perfectly planned for us to reach his goal though." Roy opened his folder and glanced at the first page of the report. "I might be able to figure it out if I actually read the full report."

"You're presenting this to us without knowing the full details, Sir." Riza said shaking her head in disbelief.

Roy sighed then began to read the report out loud where he left off earlier. "The soldiers will be broken up into battle buddies to complete the mission. The unit will be at the outpost for a minimum of one month-"

"A month!" The group shouted in protest.

Roy ignored the crew and continued, "or maximum a year to complete the mission."

"A year!" The crew shouted.

"Sir, what exactly is our mission?" Hawkeye asked frowning.

"As far as I can tell there isn't one, the only thing the report says is that we make an outpost to protect the border. There doesn't seem to be a very specific goal." Roy said with a frown. "I'm going to pass out the files and see if any of you can figure this out." Roy began to open each file and pass out to the assigned officer.

"Sir, would I be allowed to leave early this afternoon since we have to be on a train tomorrow to leave?" Fuery asked as he accepted his file.

"I'm going to dismiss everyone for the rest of the afternoon to prepare yourselves." Roy said with a frown glancing out the window. "You are all to report to the train station by 1130 hours tomorrow. The train leaves promptly at noon, any soldier left behind will be court-martialed." Roy finished passing out the folders and began to gather his things. The crew dispersed and gathered their own things before leaving the office one at a time.

Hawkeye was the last out of the office, she made sure files were locked up and the lights were shut off before she exited the office. "I have a feeling I'm going to miss this office."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Riza had been awake since before the sun rose but she had so much to do and so little time to do it in that it didn't matter that she'd only slept a few hours last night. Packing for missions was never easy for her, she could never decide what was important enough to take and what should stay behind. The easiest thing she'd done was packing up all of the essentials for Black Hayate. General Grumman had specifically written in her mission report that she was to bring her beloved dog, but that was probably because he was her grandfather and he knew she hated to leave her companion behind. Riza looked at the duffel bag by the door and then looked at the open suitcase in front of her on the couch. "Uniform, combat clothes, regular clothes, a book, and my guns. What else do I need?" Riza mumbled to herself with a sigh.

Then her phone rang, interrupting her train of thought. "Who could that be?" Riza approached the phone and answered, "Hello."

"Hey, Hawkeye, its Havoc, the boss wanted me to see if you needed a ride to the train station." Riza frowned as she listened to Havoc talk, it sounded as though his mouth was full.

"I've already made arrangements to get to the train station, but thank you." Riza said as she glanced out her living room window, it looked like a storm was forming on the horizon.

"Okay, well I'm going to make a stop at the general store before going to the station, you need me to pick you up anything?"

"No, thank you, Havoc."

"Okay, see you later, Hawkeye."

"Goodbye," Riza said then hung up the phone to check the clock. It was 1030 and the taxi was to take her to the station would be here in fifteen minutes. She quickly threw a few other things in her suitcase and closed it. She got her purse and gun then picked up the suitcase and duffel bag before leaving the apartment with Black Hayate following closely behind.

The ride in the taxi was uneventful and Riza made it to the train station by 1110. She was surprised to see that she was not the first of the unit to be at the platform. Standing in a group together was Ross, Hughes, Armstrong, Sheska, Brosh, Catalina, Falman, and Fuery.

"Good morning, Lieutenant Hawkeye!" Hughes shouted as he waved.

"Good morning, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes." Riza said as she set her bags down. "Good morning, everyone."

"Good morning." The group responded,

Riza moved towards Sheska, Catalina, and Ross and joined in there conversation.

At 1130 Riza glanced around at the group, Breda and Edward had joined the group but Havoc and Roy were still missing.

"Where's Roy at? We're suppose to start boarding the train." Hughes said as he looked around the platform.

"Late as always." Riza muttered.

"Guess that means I'm in charge then!" Hughes said as he clapped his hands together.

"Forget it Hughes," came the shout across the platform from Roy as he and Havoc approached the group, carrying their things. "And I'm not late Hawkeye, according to my watch it is just now 1130," Said Roy as he tapped his state alchemy watch.

"Of course, Sir." Hawkeye said with a slight shake of her head.

"Aren't we missing a couple more people?" Hughes asked glancing around.

"General Armstrong and Major Miles will be meeting us in West City." Roy said with a slight frown.

"So we're ready to ship out then, excellent." Hughes said smacking Roy on the back roughly causing him to almost fall forward.

"Watch it Hughes." Roy said angrily. Then turned to the group, "Havoc, Breda, and Armstrong load the luggage!" Roy barked the order and the three men jumped to work doing what they were told. "The rest of you board the train." There was a flurry of activity as everyone tried to do as they were told.

Within ten minutes all the luggage had been placed on the train and everyone had boarded. The train they were taking to West City was a freight train with two extra cars added, one small passenger car and a small luggage car. The passenger car was tiny, only meant to seat sixteen people at most and the unit was currently trying to make themselves as comfortable as possible in their limited space before the train departed. At exactly noon the train whistle sounded and the train pulled out of the station for its long trek across the country to the West.

Several hours later, the train was making its journey through heavy rain, moving slower than it would in perfect weather. The group inside was relatively quiet and they had all found ways to entertain themselves. Havoc and Breda were in the middle of a chess game with Falman silently watching the battle. Seated across the aisle was Armstrong, who was drawing in a large sketch book; Denny, who was leaning against the window, snoring, sound asleep; and Fuery, who was fixing a small radio with an intense look of concentration upon his young face. In the booth behind them was Riza, Maria, Rebecca, and Sheska. Maria and Rebecca were having a quiet conversation, Sheska was reading a book, and Riza was staring past Maria out the window while petting Black Hayate who slept on her lap. Across the aisle sat Roy, Hughes, and Edward. Hughes was talking nonstop to Roy about his beautiful daughter while Roy tried his best to ignore Hughes and look out the window. Edward had his nose buried in an alchemy book, trying his best to ignore Hughes as well.

"Hughes, will you shut up already!" Roy said standing up angrily. "I've had to listen to you talk about you daughter since we got on this train!"

"Ah, Roy, chill out, you know you love to hear about Elysia." Hughes said with a goofy grin.

"I don't want to hear about her anymore!" Roy shouted.

Just then the screech of the brakes sounded, sending everyone flying. Roy fell back into his seat, and Riza, Ed, Denny, and Falman fell into the floor.

"What the hell?" Edward yelled from the floor as he tried to stand.

Maria helped Riza to her feet as she spoke. "We need to all stay calm, I'm sure there's a reason the train stopped."

"I will talk to the conductor, if you wish." Armstrong said as he pulled Denny to his feet.

"Good plan." Hughes said. "Take someone with you."

'Hey, who's in charge here?" Roy said with a frown. "Fullmetal, go with Armstrong to figure out what's going on."

"Why me?" Edward said as he got to his feet.

"You're an alchemist, you might be able to do some good." Roy said with a smirk.

"I'll go with them, sir." Riza said as she pulled out her gun.

"Okay, go." Roy said motioning towards the door at the front of the car.

Armstrong, Edward, and Riza made their way out of the car and onto the ground. It was pouring rain and the three were instantly soaked to the skin. They slowly made their way towards the front of the train, watching for any sign of trouble on the way. "It's raining so hard I can barely see anything out here." Edward said loudly over the howl of the wind.

Riza put her hand over Ed's mouth quieting him from talking anymore and pointed with her gun at a shadow in front of them that was moving in their direction. Ed nodded that he understood not to speak and Riza removed her hand then gripped her gun with both hands. The shadow moved closer and began to take shape, it was definitely a person. Edward and Armstrong took a fighting stance, preparing for the figure to emerge from the rain. Riza had her finger on the trigger, waiting for the right moment to fire.

When the figure was close enough to see, and he spotted the group, the figure yelled out. "Please, don't shoot!" He yelled throwing up his hands to surrender. It was the conductor of the train standing before them.

Riza put her gun down and glanced at the two state alchemists behind her. "Why has the train stopped?" Riza asked motioning for Edward and Armstrong to stand down.

"I was just coming to let you know what happen, ma'am." The conductor said with a shaky voice. "There's been a mudslide across the tracks ahead. There's no way for us to clear it."

"I can clear it," said Edward with confidence.

"How?" The conductor asked shaking his head. "It's a huge mudslide. It covers the tracks for at least half a mile maybe longer, its hard to tell in the rain."

"I'm an alchemist, this will be a piece of cake."

"It would be better to wait until the rain stops to attempt it. If you clear it while it's still pouring then you could cause another mudslide." The conductor said shaking his head.

"We have to make it to West City tonight, we can't wait out the storm." Riza said to the conductor. "Armstrong, let the others know what's going on, while Edward and I go with the conductor to clear this mess."

"Yes, ma'am" Armstrong said before turning and making his way back to the passenger car.

"Shall I lead the way then?" The conductor asked as he watched the large alchemist retreat.

"After you," said Edward as he pulled off his white gloves and pocketed them.

The conductor nodded and turned around to make his way to the front of the train. Ed followed, whipping his blonde, wet bangs from his face and Riza took up the rear with her gun still in hand. The train was a long one, it carried supplies on their way to West City, and it took the three almost ten minutes to reach the front of the train. When the group reached the front they could see the disaster that caused the train to stop. The mudslide was huge and had blocked the train tracks for as far as they could see.

"Still so sure you can fix this boy?" The conductor asked as he looked at Edward.

"Of course I can!" Edward said with a smirk, "I am the Fullmetal Alchemist!" Edward approached the mess with a calculating expression upon his face. He stood for a long moment then clapped his hands and placed them in the mudslide. It glowed blue for a long moment then the light cleared. No longer were the tracks blocked by the mudslide, instead large arches towered over the tracks. "This will take care of the problem long enough for us to get through but no guarantee that it will last much longer than that." Edward said as he turned to the conductor.

"I will tell the engineer to get the train started again immediately." The conductor said, happily.

"Give us ten minutes to get to the end of the train and back in the our seats." Riza said as she turned to walk back down the train.

"Yes ma'am," The conductor yelled as he ran to get on the engine.

"Better hurry then." Edward said turning to Riza with a grin on his face. Riza was frozen for a moment looking at the smile, for some reason it captivated her. Then the moment was broken as Edward turned and started making his way back along the train. Riza shivered but thought it must be the rain chilling her body. She shook her head then pushed the wet hair out of her face before following behind Ed.

The rain had lighten to a mild drizzle as the two soldiers made it back to their car. They had just closed the door behind them when the train whistle sounded and with a shudder the train began to move.

"Took you long enough." Roy said as he snapped his pocket watch close.

"You should be saying thank you, jerk! I got this train moving again while you sat here doing nothing." Edward said angrily as he pulled his wet jacket off.

"Enough, you two!" Riza said as she pulled out her guns, pointing one at Roy and one at Edward. "I'm wet and its cold, I don't want to listen to you two squabble. So take your seats and be quiet!" Riza said in a commanding tone.

"Yes ma'am!" Roy said, raising his hands to surrender and took a seat. Edward said nothing but nodded and took a seat across from Roy. Hughes muttered something about being whipped but Riza ignored him. She lowered her guns then put them away before pulling off her uniform coat to hang it on a hook by the door. Riza turned around, silently took Edward's soaked coat from his hands and placed it on the hook next to hers. For a moment she stood there looking at Edward's red coat then she took her seat.

The rest of the journey to West City was made in relative silence and without further incident.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The train pulled into the West City well after dark and with rain pouring from the sky. The group slowly filed off the train and onto the platform. They were greeted by a young sergeant, who stood patiently waiting for them to arrive.

"Colonel Mustang, I am to be your escort in West City until you depart on your train tomorrow." The young man said with a salute.

Roy waved off the soldier, "All any of us want right now is to eat and sleep, Sergeant."

"General Grumman has arranged hotel rooms for all of you tonight and room service is to be provided when you arrive."

"Excellent," Roy said with a grin.

"How are we going to transport so many of us, sir?" Riza asked from behind Roy.

"The hotel is attached to the train station, no transportation needed. Plus, arrangements have been made for your luggage to be brought to the hotel for you."

"Awesome, I didn't want to have to lug my own duffel bag, its heavy." Havoc said with a grin.

"I will lead you to the hotel now, if you are ready," the sergeant said as he turned and started across the platform.

"Everyone, follow him." Roy commanded and took the lead.

The group crossed the platform and made their way through the deserted train station to the north end. Just as the sergeant had promised, there was a large hotel attached to the train station. There was a pair of grand doors leading into the lobby from the station, they didn't even have to walk through the rain to enter. Once inside the empty lobby, Roy and the sergeant approached the front desk and the tired looking man behind it.

"Good evening, sir, and welcome to The West City Inn." The gentleman said with exaggerated happiness.

"General Grumman has reservations for six rooms," the sergeant said politely. "There should also be a file waiting for Colonel Mustang."

"Okay, let me check on this, sir." The man behind the counter said as he opened a large registration book on his desk. He scanned the book and then nodded to himself. "Yes, I have the information here. I will get your room keys and check the office for that file. Please excuse you me for a moment." The man said then turned around and went through a door behind the counter. After a long moment he returned with a handful of keys and a manila folder. "Here you are, sir." He said handing the things to Roy who accepted them with a polite 'thank you'.

"I am to make sure you read the report before handing out the keys, sir." The sergeant said firmly.

"Fine," Roy said annoyed. "Hawkeye, hold these." Roy said shoving the fist full of keys into Riza's hands. He opened the file and read it to himself with a frown on his face. "No one is going to be happy with this but it's orders from the General." Roy said with a sigh.

"What's our orders, sir?" Riza asked.

Roy took the room keys from Riza. "We've been assigned rooms in pairs and one group of three so when I call you up come get your key." Roy glanced at the list then read off the first set. "Hughes and I." Roy said as he handed a key to Hughes.

"This is great Roy, I can tell you Elysia's favorite bed time story and sing you all her bed time songs."

"Great," Roy said with a frown on his face. "Next is Armstrong, Falman, and Fuery" Roy said tossing the key into Falman's hands. "Next room is Maria and Brosh." Roy said handing the key to Maria.

"Why do I have to share with him? Can't I share with Riza or Sheska?" Ross said as she looked at the key in her hand.

"That's orders." Roy said with a shake of his head. "Rebecca and Breda." Roy said throwing the key to Breda. "Sheska and Havoc." Roy said handing a key to Jean. "And finally Hawkeye and Fullmetal."

Riza took the key from Roy. "Can't we decide our own room mates for the night?"

The sergeant who had been standing behind Roy quietly spoke up. "I am to make sure that the unit bunks as ordered and report to General Grumman if orders are not followed."

"Well that settles that then." Roy said with a frown looking at

Hughes. "It's only one night, it can't be that bad. Everyone get to your rooms and report back here at-" Roy paused and look at the report. "-noon. Our train leaves at 1245 tomorrow."

The was a chorus of 'yes, sir' from the group then they spilt up into their pairs and group of three and headed to the elevators.

"What about our luggage?" Sheska asked the sergeant.

"It should already be waiting in your assigned room."

Sheska nodded then joined Havoc at the elevator to go up to the second floor. It took two elevator trips to get the whole unit to the next floor and then they dispersed to their assigned rooms.

Riza and Edward walked down the hall to room 271, and  
Riza unlocked the door with the key. She opened the door to the room and gasped. It was a large room with a huge window looking out on West City. There was a table for two in front of the window, set with food for them to eat. A large desk and leather chair were against the wall next to the door and against the wall opposite the window was a single queen sized bed.

"Umm, there must be a mistake." Edward said as he looked at the room.

"This is no mistake," Riza said as she spotted their luggage at the end of the bed and Black Hayate, curled up, asleep under the desk.

"But there's only one bed." Edward said moving past Riza into the room.

"We'll make it work for one night." Riza said moving into the room and setting down her purse on the desk. "Come in and close the door, please." She said as she pulled off her still damp coat and wrapped it around the desk chair.

Edward came in and closed the door moving slowly as he went. "I'm going to go ahead and eat." He said as he crossed the room to sit at the table. "We should eat while it's hot."

"I'm going to take a quick shower and change. I'm still damp from our walk in the rain earlier." Riza said as she lifted her suitcase off the floor and sat it on the bed. She opened it and began gathering things she need for her shower.

"Would you like me to wait for you to finish so we can eat together?" Edward said as he stared out the window, Riza felt as if he was avoiding looking at her at that moment.

Riza was frozen for a moment, leaning over her suitcase. She wasn't expecting Edward to offer to wait, food always seem to be first on his mind, well after alchemy and his brother. "That won't be necessary, you can eat while the food is hot." Riza said as she pulled out what she needed from her suitcase and closed it.

"Okay." Edward said turning to glance at her with an expression that Riza was unable to read.

Riza retreated to the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her. She got the shower running, then stripped off her damp clothes before getting under the warm spray of water.

Edward stared at his plate of food for a long moment, drooling over the piece of steak, mashed potatoes, and green beans. It looked really good but Ed decided that it would be impolite not to wait even though Riza said it was okay to go ahead and eat. Instead Edward stood and got his suitcase, placing it on the bed. He glanced at the bathroom door to make sure that Riza was still inside then stripped off his damp clothes. He pulled out his boxers and a t-shirt, then dressed quickly, before dumping his pile of damp clothes in the desk chair. Ed transferred his and Riza's suitcases off the bed to the floor. Then he moved back to the table in front of the window and sat down. He stared out the window trying to ignore his stomach growling from the scent of delicious food.

Riza emerged from the bathroom ten minutes later in a pair of blue cotton pajama pants and matching tank top. She was surprised to see Edward still sitting at the table staring at the window.

"You waited for me?" Riza asked, surprised.

Edward shrugged, "I didn't want to eat alone, and I figured you didn't want to eat alone either."

Riza nodded silently and crossed the room to take a seat at the table. There was an awkward silence as the two began their meal together. Riza tried to focus on her plate while Edward seem to be completely focused with the view of West City through their window. The quiet held for several long moments then Riza could take it no more and spoke, "What do you think of West City?"

"Looks wet," Edward said turning from the window to look at Riza.

"It is spring and there is a lot of rain here during this season." Riza said as she look out the window that was still glistening from the rain.

"Hopefully it won't rain tomorrow, don't want anymore mudslides." Edward said with a smirk.

"Right." Riza said with a slight smile as she looked back down at her plate.

There was another long moment of silence before Edward broke it. "This reminds me of so many moments spent traveling with Al, of course he ate less than you but then again he was a suit of amour. I wanted to have the chance to finally be home with him and to enjoy every day life but here I am, traveling again."

"I'm so sorry that you could not take leave to be with your brother." Riza said as she finished the meal on her plate. She glanced over at Edward's plate to see that his meal was only half eaten and he had laid down his fork.

"I'm not sure I could stop the traveling. Even being in Central for the past month is weird. I feel like I've been there to long."

"Once you've had a chance to settle in you wont have the urge to keep moving around anymore."

"I hoped so but so far I haven't done very well." Edward said as he meet her eyes. There was a sadness behind them that made Riza's heart ache with empathy. "I still haven't unpacked anything. My apartment is bare and there's nothing in the kitchen, I eat out for every meal." Edward broke eye contact and glanced back out the window, focusing on some point in the distance. "Some habits die hard."

"Its going to take a while to adjust," Riza said softly.

"I feel like I'm never going to adjust," Edward said with a sigh.  
He shook his head then glanced back at Riza. "Let's talk about something happier."

"Like what?" Riza said with a smile.

"I don't know anything, else." Edward said with a shrug.

"How about we get to know each other better. You ask me a question and then I ask you one." Riza said with a smile, "So ask me something."

"Okay," Edward said with a thoughtful look. "Any question?"

"Is that your question?" Riza asked back with a smile.

"Only if that's yours." Edward said smiling.

"You can ask me anything."

Edward was silent for a moment, staring at Riza, before he spoke. "Are you and the Colonel dating?"

Riza was taken aback. "No, we're not." Riza said the smile falling from her face. "Nor have we ever or will ever."

"Okay," Edward said with a nod to himself. "You're turn to ask."

Riza thought for a moment then asked, "What about you and Winry? Are you dating her?"

Edward shook his head then spoke, "No, she's like my sister. Besides she likes Alphonse."

"Really, just a sister?" Riza asked surprised.

"Yes, she's nothing more than that. Now I believe it's my turn to ask another question."

"Okay, ask away."

Edward was opening his mouth to speak when there was a knock of the door. "Who could that be?" Edward asked standing up and crossing the room. He opened the door to find General Olivier Mira Armstrong standing on the other side.

"Good evening," She said with a nod at Edward and then Riza. "May I come in?" She asked but did not wait for a reply, instead she pushed past Edward and stood at the end of the bed.

"General, good evening." Riza said standing and saluting General Armstrong.

Oliver merely nodded at Riza as Edward closed the hotel room door and moved back to the table by the window. "I've been instructed by General Grumman to deliver orders to each pair. Tomorrow we will be getting on the train as civilians, that means no uniforms, no weapons, and nothing military issued. We will be pretending to be a group of immigrants, who are fleeing military oppression in the north-east. We are taking refuge in a small, abandoned town up north. We will be taking the train to Pendleton then traveling by carriage to our destination. Any questions so far?"

"No, ma'am." Riza said as Edward shook his head.

"Hawkeye, Elric, you two will be sharing a house together and will be battle buddies for the rest of our mission. And at no time should you wear military uniforms, carry weapons, or act like dogs of the state. This is an undercover mission to protect the border of our country."

"Yes, ma'am" Riza said as she nodded her head in understanding.

"That's all for now, Lieutenant, Major. I suggest you rest up, tomorrow's going to be a long day." The General said then turned towards the door to leave. When she reached the door she turned back around as Riza and Edward saluted her. With a single nod, she exited the room, leaving the two remaining soldiers in silence for a long moment.

"I guess we should go to bed then," Riza said as she moved away from the table towards the bed.

"There's still the sleeping arrangements to work out." Edward said pointing at the single bed.

"Oh," was all Riza could manage as she looked at the bed.

Ed looked at Riza then sighed, "I'll sleep on the floor, you can take the bed."

Riza shook her head, "You should take the bed."

Edward went to the bed, took the blanket that was folded at the foot of the bed and a pillow before moving to the end of bed. He tossed the pillow on the floor then laid down and covered himself with the blanket. "I'm sleeping on the floor." Edward said as he closed his eyes.

I guess I can't argue with that." Riza said with a small smile. "I'll get the lights." She crossed the room, careful not to step on Edward, and turned off the lights then crawled into bed. "Good night, Edward." Riza said softly as she pulled up the blankets.

"Good night, Riza." Edward mumbled.

Several hours later Edward lay awake on the floor, trying to fall asleep. For the millionth time that night he tried to roll over and get more comfortable but after a couple of moments he realized once again that he was not going to be comfortable on the floor. With a deep sigh he gave up trying to fall asleep and stared at the ceiling. This must be how Alphonse felt all those nights, alone, uncomfortable, lost, and longing for the depths of sleep to rescue you. Alphonse had spent uncountable nights listening to Edward slumber and now Ed lay on the floor unable to sleep, listening to the soft inhale and exhale of Riza as she rest.

Edward lay that way for a while, just listening to the noises of the night. Then something changed, and it took Ed a moment to realize what the sound was. Riza's breathing pattern had changed, she seem to be breathing faster as if she was beginning to run and she moaned softly as she exhaled. Edward smiled to himself, she was dreaming. He wondered what she was dreaming about, he hoped that it was not nightmares like he had, no one should have nightmares.

Black Hayate stood and stretched before coming out from under the desk where he had slept. He crossed the room with a click of his nails on the floor then jumped onto the end of the bed. The little dog cocked his head to one side as he looked upon his master then looked at Edward and whimpered softly.

"What's a matter, Black Hayate?" Ed asked as he sat up.

At the moment Riza screamed and Edward jumped off the floor. Her breath was now ragged and she trashed in the bed. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she spoke in her sleep. "No…please…no!"

Edward rushed to her side and sat on the bed. He grabbed her shoulders to steady her and spoke calmly to her. "Riza, wake up, you're having a nightmare. Wake up."

"NO!" Riza screamed then her eyes snapped open as she sat up. She pulled away from Edwards hands, shaking all over, and tears rolled down her face. Riza pulled her knees to her chest and buried her face in her hands.

"Riza, its okay, you're all right." Edward said softly as he rubbed her back, soothingly. Riza put her head on Edward's shoulder and cried softly. "It's okay, you're safe, nothing can hurt you." Edward mumbled as he continued to rub her back.

"He almost got me….. He almost had me." Riza murmured as she tried to take deep breaths to calm herself.

"He can't hurt you. I'm here, no one can hurt you." Edward said as he wrapped his arms around her in a reassuring hug. Riza simply nodded, not raising her head off Ed's shoulder. The two sat like this for a long time and finally Riza's tears ceased. "Are you okay?" Edward asked softly. Riza nodded without lifting her head from his shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it? You might feel better." Edward said but Riza shook her head and pressed herself tighter to Ed. "Okay, we can just sit here." Edward said gently.

Edward sat there holding Riza, neither saying a word. They stayed like this for a long time, then Ed realized that Riza's breathing had evened out and she was once again asleep. He maneuvered the two so that they were laying down, Riza still in Edward's arms.

"What the hell scared you so badly?" Edward whispered as he pushed Riza's bangs from her face. Ed would talk to her later, he wanted to help her, save her from her nightmares. She was such a kind person, she didn't deserve to suffer from nightmares.

With these thoughts Edward drifted off to sleep as the sun made its appearance on the horizon.

A/N: Thanks for all the support and reviews!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Riza woke up to the noise of someone banging on the door of her hotel room. She tried to sit up but something was holding her down. Her mind felt foggy with sleep as she tried to process what she was seeing, it was an arm draped across her chest. Why was there an arm draped across her?

There was a soft moan next to Riza and the arm across her moved. Then she saw the blonde man next to her sit up, and rub sleep from his eyes. "Hold you horses!" Edward shouted grumpily to the person banging on the door.

"Boss, it's 1145, the train leaves in one hour." Havoc shouted through the door.

Riza sat straight up next to Edward and covered her mouth as she gasped. "Oh no."

"Give us thirty minutes, Havoc." Edward said as he stretched his arms, one flesh and one automail.

"Okay but the Colonel's not going to be happy." Havoc shouted, then there was the sound of his retreating footsteps.

Riza climbed out of the bed and practically ran into the bathroom. "I'm getting in the shower." Riza said as she closed the door.

Edward frowned, he'd wanted to talk to Riza this morning but there wasn't going to be time now that they had overslept. He got out of bed and grabbed his suitcase off the floor. He set it on the bed, pulling out his civilian clothes and quickly dressed. Edward threw all of his things in his suitcase and zipped it closed.

Ed heard a soft whimper and turned to see Black Hayate sitting by the bathroom door. "What's wrong, Black Hayate?" The little dog seem to notice that Edward was there for the first time and he bound across the room. Black Hayate skid to a halt in front of Edward and sat down, cocking his head to one side as he looked at Edward. "Are you hungry?" Edward asked with a smile. Black Hayate barked once and wagged his tail. "Okay, let's get you some food." Edward said as he picked up Riza's duffel bag off the floor and unzipped it. Just as Edward had suspected, it had everything Black Hayate needed. "Just a minute and I'll feed you." Edward pulled out a package of food and Black Hayate's bowl. He opened the package and dumped the contents in the bowl before placing it on the floor. "There you go." Edward said as he looked at the little dog. Black Hayate stared at the bowl but did not move. "Umm… I thought you were hungry." Edward said confused.

"You have to give him the command."

Edward turned towards her voice and found Riza standing in the doorway to the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel. Edward tried not to stare but it was hard to turn away from her porcelain skin, her long, muscular legs, and her soft, blonde hair hanging around her shoulders.

"Edward, you're staring." Riza said as she crossed her arms across her chest.

Edward blushed and looked at the floor. "I'm sorry."

"Black Hayate, eat." Riza commanded and the little dog began to eat vigorously. Riza quickly crossed the room and opened her suitcase. She quickly pulled out clothes and returned to the bathroom. "You can stop staring at the floor now," Riza said as she closed the bathroom door.

Edward looked up and sighed at the sight of the closed door. He didn't know what had just come over him, suddenly he was very aware of how beautiful Riza was. She had always seem to fade into the background before but now she stood out. What had changed? Edward wondered.

Shaking his head to clear out those thoughts Edward sat down on the end of the bed and pulled on his boots over his flesh and automail feet. He glanced around the hotel room, checking to make sure none of his things were going to be left. He spotted his pocket watch sitting on the chair by the table. Ed picked it up and quickly put it in his pocket and sat back down on the bed.

Just then Riza came out of the bathroom holding her uniform in her arms. She wore a simple knee-length, black skirt, a lovely purple blouse, and a pair of plain black heels. Riza had left her hair down and Edward would describe her nothing short of beautiful. "Almost ready?" Riza asked as she made her way to the bed.

'I'm ready." Edward said as he stood and took his suitcase to the door.

"Give me a minute and I'll be ready too." Riza said as she placed her clothes in her suitcase and zipped it closed. She quickly packed Hayate's bag and picked up the two bags. She put on Black Hayate's leash and then said, "let's go."

Edward opened the door and held it. "After you," Edward said as he smiled at Riza.

They arrived at their platform by 1215 to see the unit waiting for them in a crowd of people. Roy approached the two and pulled them down to the end of the platform, away from the people.

"You're late!" He said in an angry whisper.

"I apologize, sir, and I will take any punishment you deem appropriate." Riza said softly.

"No punishment this time but you missed the briefing so I'll give it to you now." Roy said as he glanced around, making sure no civilian was in ear shot. "We are riding on a passenger train to Pendleton, here are your tickets." Roy said pulling two tickets from the pocket of his blue, button up shirt. Ed took the tickets from his hand as Roy continued. "We are going to attempt to be seated in the same passenger car but no guarantee. Also, avoid talking with any of the other people on the train. Act like civilians but no associating with each other unless there's an emergency."

"Why can't we talk to anyone?" Edward asked confused.

"That's orders." Roy said annoyed. "The following orders are also direct from the General. We are supposed to be immigrants from the west escaping military oppression in the east." Roy was talking quickly, not giving the two a chance to interrupt. "We arrive in Pendleton at three o'clock then we will all meet on the north side of town at four o'clock where trucks will be waiting to transport us. Any questions?" Roy asked looking between the two soldiers.

"Is alchemy allowed?" Edward asked softly.

"You can still use alchemy but only as a last resort and use transmutation circles." Roy said looking at Fullmetal.

"So keep to ourselves and meet up with the group by four." Riza said repeating the orders simply.

"You got it." Roy said turning away from the two and heading back towards Hughes who stood next to a young woman and her two children, making friendly conversation.

"Looks like the group has spread out and isn't talking to anyone but their partner, except Hughes, he's always talking to someone and probably bragging about his daughter." Edward said as he glanced at Riza.

"Well we're undercover now so that makes sense not to speak with anyone." Riza said as she started leading Black Hayate back down the platform towards the crowd of people. Edward nodded and followed her.

The two stood a couple of feet away from the crowd and set their bags in a pile. Riza had Black Hayate lay down next to her as she stood facing Edward. She was positioned so she could see the crowd and so Ed could see the approaching train.

Edward was silent a long time, playing with the train tickets in his hand, before he spoke. "Are you going to tell me about the nightmare you had last night?" Ed asked softly.

Riza was taken aback as she meet Edward's eyes. "I didn't have a nightmare."

"You were trashing around in the bed then woke up screaming, sounds like a nightmare to me." Edward said as he raised one eyebrow.

"I didn't have a nightmare." Riza insisted.

"You woke up crying and had me hold you until you fell asleep again." Edward looked into Riza's eyes trying to figure out why she would lie to him.

"I didn't have a nightmare." Riza said as she looked away from Edward. "Now, drop it."

Ed went silent as they stood waiting. At 1230 the train pulled into the station and the conductor began to usher people onto the train. "I'll get the bags, here take the tickets." Edward said putting the tickets into Riza's hand then picking up the two suitcase and the duffel bag. Ed took the lead towards the train with Riza and Black Hayate following to join the line boarding the train. They two got in line behind Havoc and Sheska who were quietly arguing about who would get the window seat.

The line moved quickly and before they knew it, Riza and Ed were following Havoc and Sheska onto the train. The train car was already crowded with passengers and was noisy with so many people talking at once. Ed and Riza sat in the last booth in the car and stowed their bags in the rack above their head. Edward seated himself by the window and Riza took the aisle seat, placing Black Hayate on her lap. Across from them sat the woman and two children that Hughes had talked to on the platform.

Once the last of the passengers were boarded and seated the conductor made his way down the aisle checking tickets. Riza handed the two tickets to him silently as he passed and he simply nodded before moving on. At 1245 the train whistle sounded and the train pulled out of the station.

A couple of hours later the train pulled into the Pendleton train station, it had been a smooth train ride with no problems. The passengers disembarked onto the platform and made their own way into town. Riza lead Black Hayate away from the crowd carrying her suitcase with Edward in tow, carrying her duffel bag and his suitcase.

"We need to make our way to the North side of town." Edward said as Riza sat down on a bench and began looking through her purse.

"We will, but give it a couple of minutes." Riza said eyeing the large crowd at the station. "Wait for the crowd to die down."

"Why?" Edward said watching Vato Falman, Alex Louis Armstrong, and Kain Fuery leave the train station.

"We're suppose to avoid suspicion." Riza said with a sigh as she pulled a pair of glasses out from in her purse. "If everyone leaves at the same time and heads in the same direction it will do just that, cause suspicion."

"Okay," Edward said as he watched Olivier Armstrong and Major Miles leave the train station. Ed was pretty sure that they were holding hands but he couldn't be sure at this distance. He shook his head and turned towards Riza, "Why are you wearing glasses?"

"Part of my undercover." Riza said with a shrug then she closed her purse and stood up. "Ready to go?"

Edward nodded as he looked around the station to see soldiers still on the platform. "How do you know it's our turn to leave?"

"I've been on lots of missions with the Colonel." Riza said softly as she took the stairs off the platform. "Anything you need before we get to the trucks?" Riza asked as the two made their way down Main Street.

"Food would be great." Ed said putting his hand on his grumbling stomach. "We did miss breakfast and lunch."

Riza smiled as she looked around. "How about sandwiches?" She said pointing at a small café placed back off the road.

"Sounds good."

The two sat down on the patio of the café for a quick lunch and ordered their meals. Their meal was brought to them swiftly and they started to eat.

"What do you think this little village is going to be like?" Edward asked as he shoved half a sandwich in his mouth.

"Well its been abandoned so I imagine that its covered in dust." Riza said before taking a bite of her sandwich.

Ed laughed, "I hope not."

"I just hope there's going to be furniture and food in these houses." Riza said as she looked for the waiter. She spotted him and motioned for him to come to the table.

"Yes ma'am?" The waiter asked pausing at the table.

"Can we get the check, please?"

"Of course, ma'am."

The waiter retreated then Riza went back to the rest of her meal. She finished her soup and then her sandwich while Edward shoved the remains of his third sandwich in his mouth.

"What time is it, Edward?"

"Umm…" Edward said looking around for a clock.

"Don't you have your pocket watch?"

"Oh, yeah." Ed said pulling out his watch and opened it,"345."

The waiter returned and sat the check down the check with a slight bow. "Anything else I can get you?"

"No thank you." Ed said putting his watch away and standing. He looked at the bill then tossed the money on the table. "Ready?"

"Yes." Riza said standing and picking up Black Hayate's leash.

Edward grabbed the duffel bag and two suitcases then the two soldiers and the little dog walked out onto Main Street. They walked east for a couple blocks then picked a small side street to head north.

Just before four the two made it to the very edge of town to see the rest of the group loading into trucks.

"Hawkeye, Fullmetal!" Roy yelled when he spotted them. "What took you two so long? You were third to leave the station!"

"Chill, Colonel." Ed said rolling his eyes. "We stopped for a quick lunch."

"Stopped for lunch?" Roy said with a frown. "You could have jeopardized our mission."

"Sir, we were told to be here by four and we were. You did not give us orders to come straight here without stops." Riza said as she calmly addressed the Flame Alchemist.

Roy frowned then shook his head. "Fine, just get in the trucks."

"Yes, sir." Riza said with a smile then leaned down and scooped up her little dog.

"Luggage in this truck," Roy said pointing to the truck on the left. "And put yourselves in the other."

"Got it." Edward said taking the bags over to luggage truck and putting the bag in and then following Riza into the other truck. Riza climbed into the back of the truck and sat down next to Havoc while Ed took the only seat left across from her, next to Breda.

"We were starting to think you guys went MIA." Breda said as he clapped a hand on Edward's back.

"We got lunch." Ed said trying to move away from Breda.

"You guys didn't get enough alone time in the hotel room so you went for a lunch date." Havoc said with a wink as he pulled out his pack of cigarettes.

Riza shook her head silently, ignoring the group, as the trucks began to move.

"We weren't on a lunch date and we just over slept this morning." Ed said gruffly, crossing his arms.

"Someone was up late last night." Breda said suggestively as he elbowed Edward playfully.

"Nothing happened." Edward insisted.

"Did you to share a bed, chief?" Havoc asked as he lit his cigarette.

"Edward," Riza said reaching across to him to place her hand on the knee of his flesh leg. "Our business, is not theirs." She let her hand linger for a long moment before removing it as she sat back.

There was a chorus of 'oooos' in the background from the men in the truck as Ed turned red and looked away from the group.

"Boss, is turning into a lady's man." Havoc said with a smirk.

"Leave him alone." Maria said from her seat next to Denny and Rebecca.

The group quieted and sat back in silence to enjoy the ride.

The two trucks drove for an hour up into a mountain range as the sun began to set. The trucks pulled off the small two lane road and onto a rough dirt path, following it for another twenty minutes before the woods thinned out and they saw a group of less than a dozen buildings clustered together. At the edge of the little village the trucks halted so the occupants could unload.

"This is where we're staying?" Denny asked looking at the meager excuse of a town.

"You got it, Sergeant." General Armstrong said as she looked at Denny with a smirk.

Roy scowled at the village. "Alright, soldiers, we made it so now it's time to settle in."

"There's orders waiting for you in the command building." Olivier said as she pointed to the only three-story building in the town. On either side of it were two-story buildings and the rest of the buildings were single story.

"Figures there would be a command center here." Roy muttered as he trooped toward the tallest building. "Major Armstrong, Lieutenant Havoc, Sergeant Brosh, Fullmetal, Lieutenant Breda, and Major Miles unload the supplies."

"Yes, sir," chorused the group of soldiers.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye and General Armstrong please accompany me." Mustang said as he walked in front of the first two-story building. The two women followed and the group stopped in front of the large three-story building. "I'm assuming that you have the keys, General Armstrong."

Olivier nodded and pulled out a single key from the pocket of her pants. "The rest of the keys should be inside."

Mustang took the key and quickly opened the door to the dark command center. The three walked inside to see a large open room. A set of stairs that lead to the next two floors ran along the back wall. A huge table with enough chairs for the whole unit took up a large portion of the right side of the room and along the left wall was a miniature kitchen.

"I figured this would be offices." Roy said as he looked around for a light switch by the door. After a long moment he was successful and the space was illuminated with a bright yellow light.

"You're office and the communication room are on the top floor." Olivier said as she took a seat at the end of the table. "My office and Lieutenant Colonel Hughes' office are on the second floor."

"Where is the file room?" Hawkeye asked as she inspected the kitchen area to find it surprisingly clean.

"It's the same room as communications." Olivier said as he leaned back in her chair and placed her boots on the table.

"Where is this file I need to read?" Roy asked as he started at General Armstrong.

"Here." Olivier said picking a file up from the seat next to her.

Roy took the file from her hand and opened it to read. He was silent as he read the file. "There's a general store, a library, an inn, and seven houses. Houses are to be shared by battle buddies." Mustang summarized as he looked up at Hawkeye. "There's a map of the town and we've been assigned houses."

"Its getting late so you better hurry and give out orders." Olivier said as she glanced out the window to see the sun was setting.

"I'm going to but I need the keys to pass out." Roy said irritated.

Olivier picked up a small fabric bag from the chair next to her and gave it a small shake, the soft jingle of keys was heard.

Roy took it from her hand and opened it. "Do you have your house key, yet?"

"No, you haven't given it to me." Olivier said as she took her feet off the table.

Mustang nodded and consulted the map. "You've been assigned house number eight." Roy pulled a handful of keys out of the bag to see each had a number printed on it. He took the key with an eight printed on it and shoved it into Olivier's hand. "One key for you and Major Miles to share."

"Thanks, Colonel." Olivier said as she stood and walked out of the command office. "Don't forget to lock up command when you're done and you are responsible for the key as commanding officer."

Roy stared out the door, annoyed with Olivier, everything she said sounded condescending.

"Sir, can I have my house key, please?" Riza said interrupting the silence.

Mustang looked down out the map. "You and Fullmetal are assigned to house eleven." Roy handed her the key with a small eleven engraved up it.

"Thank you, sir." Riza said taking the key and slipping it in the pocket on her skirt.

"Can I have you give out keys, Hawkeye." Roy said as he turned and looked at the stairs. "I want to inspect the offices." He pushed the file and bag of keys into Riza's hand.

"Yes, sir." Riza said with a salute.

Roy nodded as he ascended the stairs and disappeared to the next floor.

Riza left the command center and walked back over to the group of soldiers still waiting by the trucks for their house assignments. "I'm going to be giving out the orders for the Colonel."

"We just got here and the Colonel is already slacking off." Havoc said with a grin as he dropped his cigarette butt on the ground, stomping on it.

"He's inspecting the command center." Riza said as she pulled a key out of the bag. "Havoc and Sheska, house nine." Hawkeye said as she put the key into Havoc's hands before he could get his pack of cigarettes out of his pocket.

"We have to share a house here too?" Sheska asked shocked.

"Yes, battle buddies will be sharing a house." Riza said as she pulled out another key. "Denny and Maria, house four." Hawkeye said putting the key into Maria's hands.

"Do I have to share a house with him?" Maria asked with a sigh.

"That's orders." Riza said simply. "House six is for Rebecca and Breda." Hawkeye said taking out another key which Breda took.

"That leaves us." Falman said putting out his hand to accept the last key.

"House seven." Riza said with a smile.

The group broke apart and made their way to their separate homes. Edward and Riza walked down the path between the two rows of house to the end.

"Well home sweet home." Edward said with a sigh.

"I hope were not here more than a month." Riza said as she looked around at the two rows of houses facing each other.

"Don't want to be stuck with me longer than you have too?" Edward asked with a frown, trying to hide his smile.

"I didn't mean it that way." Riza said with a slight panic to her voice. "I do enjoy your company, it's just not ideal to be stationed here."

"Relax, I was just messing with you." Edward said as his face broke out in a smile.

Riza frowned and shock her head. "Let's take a look inside." She put the key in the lock and opened the door.

It was dark inside, when Riza stepped into what looked to be the living room, she thought it looked like a couch against the right wall. She reached out and felt the wall next to the door, looking for the light switch.

Edward stepped inside beside her and set down the bags so he could check the other side of the door for the light switch. Ed was successful and light illuminated the living room of the house.

It was a small living room, painted a light tan color, decorated with a blue couch and chair. There was an empty bookcase positioned next to the couch and a simple oak coffee table in front of the couch.

"Well it isn't dusty." Edward said with a small smirk, looking sideways at Riza.

"That's about the only good thing about it." Riza said as she leaned down and unleashed Black Hayate so the little dog could explore.

"It looks just like the apartment I have in Central." Edward said picking up the luggage and moving it onto the couch, the whole time avoiding Riza's eyes.

"I'm sure your apartment looks better." Riza said softly as she closed the door.

Edward turned to look at Riza, sadness in his eyes. "My apartment looks just like this, expect there's a huge stack of boxes in the corner and a pile of research on the coffee table, but the bookcase is still empty and it looks unlived in."

Riza didn't know how to respond so she stood silent, staring over Ed's shoulder.

Ed spoke to break the silence, "let's look around the rest of the house. Maybe it's an exact replica of my apartment." Edward said with a dry laugh.

"I'm going to look at the kitchen." Riza said with turning to walk through an arch doorway into the dining room. The dining room had a small round table with four matching chairs and a short buffet under the single window that looked out onto the road in front of the house. "Is this just like your apartment?"

Edward smiled as he glanced around. "I can't say I have this much decorating sense."

"What do you mean?" Riza asked turning around to look at Ed.

"The furniture is mismatched in my apartment." Ed said with a small laugh. "My landlord gave it to me, it's left over furniture from previous tenants."

"That makes me feel better." Riza said with a small smile. "My dining room table and chairs don't match either."

"Really? I would imagine that you would be very particular about your furniture matching."

"I use to be but the unit use to get together and play cards at my apartment. We quit after most of my original dining room furniture got broken."

"So you really can't keep control of the unit?" Edward said laughing.

"I can in the office but give them any amount of alcohol and they're completely uncontrollable." Riza said laughing.

Edward nodded then went silent as he looked around the room.

"Shall we look at the kitchen?" Riza asked softly pulling Edward into eye contact with her.

"Lead the way." Edward said motioning for Riza to walk through the arch doorway into the kitchen.

The two went into the kitchen to find it clean, boring, but stacked with food.

"So glad there's food!" Edward said as he looked into the open fridge.

"I'm glad we have food to but how about we check out the bedrooms now." Riza said reaching over Ed's shoulder to close the door to the fridge.

The two walked out of the kitchen, through the dining room, and back into the living room. There was a single door opposite the front door, Ed crossed the living room and opened it.

"There's only one bedroom." Ed said looking over his shoulder.

"Of course." Riza said with a frown.

"I guess I sleep on the couch then." Edward said turning to face Riza.

"I'm capable of sleeping on the couch." Riza said crossing her arms over her chest.

"I know that." Edward said gently. "I was just trying to be polite."

Riza broke eye contact with Ed and looked at the floor. "I'm sorry, I thought you were saying that as a woman I should sleep in the bed."

"I wasn't." Ed said softly as he reached out to touch her arm, to reassure her of his sincerity, but then he thought better of it and dropped his hand. "I would have offered it to anyone that I was sharing this house with."

"Let's be fair and flip a coin." Riza said looking up at Edward.

"Do you have a coin?" Ed asked raising one eyebrow and crossing his arms across his chest.

"I'm sure I can find one in my purse if you give me a minute." Riza said turning to the couch where her purse sat. She grabbed her purse and opened it. After a couple of moments of digging in her bag, she found one at the bottom, and pulled it out. "Heads or tails?" She asked with a smile.

"Throw it then I'll call it." Edward said as he leaned against the door frame. Riza tossed the coin into the air and looked at Ed. "Heads." Edward said as he watched it fall.

It hit the floor and Riza bent down to look at it. "Tails." She picked up the coin then stood to look at Ed. "I guess that means I'm sleeping in the bed after all."

"Guess so." Edward said pushing past her and grabbing her suitcase and duffel bag off the couch. "I'll take your luggage into the room for you."

Riza nodded, "Thank you."

Ed took the luggage into the bedroom then called out to Riza. "The bathroom is in here too."

Riza walked into the bedroom to look around. A large bed was centered on one wall, it was flanked by bedside tables on each side. A large dresser set across from the bed next to the door of the bathroom.

"You mind if I take a shower?" Edward asked as he pulled Riza's attention away from the room and on to him.

"Go ahead, I'm going to lay in bed and read." Riza said as she sat down on the end of the bed.

Edward nodded as he walked out of the bedroom. He returned a few moments later with an armful of clothes. He crossed the room and went into the bathroom without a word.

Riza heard the shower start as she leaned forward to take off her shoes. She tossed them on the floor in front of her with a sigh. Riza looked up to see Ed standing in front of her, she was so surprised that she couldn't help but jump in her seat.

She sat frozen in her seat as Edward leaned forward and reached both hands towards her face. "What are you doing?" She asked her voice trembled slightly with uncertainty.

Edward's hands closed around the glasses on her face and he slipped them off. He folded them up and placed them on the bed next to Riza. "You look so much prettier without those ugly glasses on." Edward said with a slight blush.

Riza was so taken aback that she couldn't speak as Edward retreated to the bathroom.


	5. Chapter 5

Riza woke early the next morning just as the sun was rising, gripped by panic after another nightmare. She couldn't remember where she was as she looked around a bedroom that was not her own. It took several long moments to calm herself down before she remembered where she was and that she was on a mission. "I hate missions." Riza muttered to herself as she slide out of bed. She pulled her sweaty pajamas off and tossed them onto the floor. Riza was about to walk into the bathroom when she heard the ringing of a phone. She didn't remember seeing a telephone in the house when they looked around the night before.

She heard the muffled sound of Edward's voice through the closed door of the bedroom. "Hello."

Riza pulled her bathrobe out of her open suitcase on the floor. She pulled it on and moved closer to the door to listen in.

"Why the hell are you calling at dawn?" Ed's voice drifted through the door. There was a long pause. "Yeah, I'll let Riza know as soon as she wakes up." Riza leaned against the door to hear better. "If you don't trust me to give her the message then why are you telling me it?" Edward paused for a moment then yawned before starting to speak again. "You got it, Colonel. Bye." Riza heard the phone being hung up then she moved away from the door. She grabbed her clothes out of her suitcase and went in the bathroom to get a shower.

Edward hung up the phone and yawned looking out the window. "Damn, Colonel, would have to call at dawn." He moved over to the bedroom door and lifted his metal fist to knock on the door. He paused, he hated to wake her, she needed the sleep but he had orders from the Flame Alchemist. Before he could decide if he should knock he heard the sound of the shower. "She's already up, I should have known she was an early riser."

Ed moved away from the bedroom door and over to the couch. He plopped down and leaned back staring at the ceiling. "I guess I need to get dressed, I do have to report in with Riza." Ed leaned forward over his open suitcase that sat on the coffee table. He pulled out his usual black pants and black tank top. Dressing quickly, he then walked into the kitchen. Yawning he opened the fridge to look for something for breakfast.

"I wish I knew how to cook." Edward muttered.

"You live alone but you don't know how to cook?" Riza said behind Ed.

He turned to see Riza standing close behind him. "I told you before I eat out for every meal, hence I don't cook."

"I guess that means I'll be doing all the cooking." Riza laughed.

"You could teach me." Edward said letting the fridge close.

Riza nodded and took a step back from Ed. "How about we start the lessons another day."

Ed sighed and walked around Riza out of the kitchen. "I'll go feed the dog."

Silently Riza prepared a quick breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast. As she was putting the two plates on the table, Edward joined her in the dining room and the two ate in silence.

Riza was picking up her empty plate when Ed spoke. "I'm suppose to let you know that we have to report into headquarters by 8."

"Okay." Riza said as she walked into kitchen to clean up. "We can leave after I clean up from breakfast."

"We'll be early though." Edward said looking at his pocket watch to see that it was 715.

"Better to be early than late." Riza said as she came out of the kitchen.

Ed sighed as he stood up. "Yes, ma'am."

"I'll wait for you in the living room and we will walk over together." Riza said with a small smile. Edward nodded and took his plate into the kitchen while Riza moved into the living room.

After a long moment Ed joined Riza in the living room. They both grabbed their coats incase it was chilly outside and the two plus Black Hayate left the house.

The two soldier made their way silently down the empty dirt road towards the command center. Black Hayate bounced around happily, smelling everything he could while still keeping up with his master.

"It's hard to believe Mustang wants us to report in so early." Edward said as he kicked a rock, sending it rolling in front of the two.

"The Colonel has us report in early during all our missions." Riza said as she gave Black Hayate's leash a gentle tug to get the little dog back on track. "During a mission in Ishval we reported in by 600 every morning."

"Why isn't the Colonel as dedicated in the office?" Ed asked with a frown.

"He is, you just haven't spent a lot of time in the office with us." Riza said as the two approached the command building.

All the lights were on and figures moved about on the first floor. Riza opened the door to see Hughes and Roy were the ones moving about in the kitchen.

"Good morning!" Hughes called out as he poured himself a glass of coffee. "Would you two like some coffee too?"

"No thank you." Riza said politely as she removed he coat, hanging it over the back of a chair.

"Pour me a glass, Hughes!" Edward said as he plopped down in a chair at the table.

"How you want it?" Hughes asked as he grabbed a second mug from the cabinet.

"Black would be great."

"Here you go, kid." Hughes filled the mug and handed it to Edward. He then joined Ed at the table so the two could enjoy their coffee together.

"Now we just have to wait for the rest of the crew to decide to show up." Roy mumbled leaning against the counter, staring out the window.

"It's ten minutes to eight so relax." Edward said as adjusted himself to prop his feet on the table.

"Feet down, Fullmetal." Roy said annoyed. Ed stuck out his tongue out at the Flame Alchemist but removed his feet as asked. Roy ignored Ed and continued staring out the window. "Everyone better report in on time so I can get this show on the road."

"Patients, sir." Riza said as she stood next to Roy.

Just then the door opened and in filed Havoc, Sheska, Maria, Breda, Rebecca, Denny, Fuery, Falman, and Alex Armstrong.

"Good morning!" Major Armstrong called to the group.

"Morning, take a seat." Roy said pointing at the table.

The soldiers slowly picked spots at the table and took a seats.

"Anyone want coffee?" Hughes asked looking around. Havoc, Falman, and Breda raised their hands immediately. "Okay, I'll serve." Hughes set to work getting the three men coffee. "Everyone want it black?"

"Of course." Breda said while Havoc and Falman nodded in agreement.

"Where's Major Miles and General Armstrong?" Roy asked with a frown to no one in particular.

Just then the door opened and the two remaining soldiers entered. "Right on time." General Armstrong said as she looked at her watch.

"Thank you for joining us, General." Roy said with a frown. "Now everyone take a seat so I can get this meeting started."

Olivier, Miles, and Riza took a seat while Hughes finished passing out full coffee mugs then took his own seat.

"Alright everyone I have to assign duties to each officer and work out a guard rotation." Roy said with as he picked up a file off the counter. "Let's start with assigning the duties around town. There is a library, inn, general store, and command center. Lieutenant Havoc you are in charge at the general store since you already have prior knowledge of the business."

"Sounds good, boss." Havoc said with salute.

"At the library will be Lieutenant Colonel Hughes and Private Sheska since you both have experience."

"I really would be okay by myself, Colonel Mustang." Sheska said in a mousey voice.

"I insist Lieutenant Colonel Hughes work at the library with you." Roy said rubbing his temples. "I need him as far away from me for as long as possible." Roy mumbled to himself then fell silent as everyone stared at him. "Anyway, Falman and Ross will be in charge of the inn, though we shouldn't have any visitors. Fuery you will work communications and you will train Denny so that we can have someone one in the communication room day and night."

"Sir, why do we need someone during the night?" Denny asked.

"All the commands center have someone working in the communications department at night so will we." Roy said with a sigh. "Never know when we may get a call, don't want to miss it."

"Yes, sir." Denny said nodding.

"Hawkeye, Breda, Catalina, Miles, Major Armstrong, and Fullmetal will be working to protect the perimeter of the village and General Armstrong will be in charge of that. I would prefer to have a day and night guard rotation."

"Of course, our mission here is to protect the border." General Armstrong said as she leaned back in her chair.

"How far are we from the border?" Rebecca asked as she looked between the Colonel and the General.

"The border is about a hundred feet behind the command center." Roy said with a sigh. "So we are almost literally sitting on the boarder."

"That is precisely why we will have day and night rotations for guard duty." General Armstrong said as she stood up. "If the Colonel doesn't mind I would like to present my plan for the guard duties now. I anticipated this move so I planned ahead."

"By all means, take the floor." Roy said as he gestured next to where he stood then took a seat next to Riza.

Olivier stood before the group to speak. "I'm assigning Major Miles and Major Armstrong to day rounds; Lieutenant Breda and Lieutenant Catalina will take the nights."

"Day or night rounds for me?" Asked Edward with a frown.

"I'm assigning you and Hawkeye to a special mission, Fullmetal." Olivier said with a wicked grin. "The two of you will be making expeditions into Creta to gather information."

"What if we get caught?!" Edward shouted as he stood up quickly, knocking his chair over.

Olivier smirked, "Don't get caught then."

"Edward, we'll be careful, don't worry." Riza said calmly to Ed motioning for him to have a seat.

As Fullmetal picked up his chair Olivier continued, "You're first operation will start tomorrow so gather the necessary supplies, Lieutenant Havoc can help you. The mission will be two days, so you are expected to report in Wednesday by nightfall. We need to establish if we have any close neighbors and if so how many there are in the village."

Roy stood, "Good idea, General." Olivier nodded then took her seat once more so that Roy could continue his announcements. "Just a couple more things we need to cover. First, any supplies that are not found here need to be ordered through Havoc at the general store but all requests will be presented to me, Lieutenant, before the supplies can be ordered from Central." Roy paused and looked at the file in his hand. "Every soldier in this room is to file a weekly report to me due Saturday before night fall. Hawkeye and Fullmetal, you will both need to turn in reports to me from your mission by Thursday evening as well as a weekly report on Saturday. Also, every Monday morning we will have a weekly meeting to discuss any problems and make rotations in duties if needed. The meeting will start at 800 sharp. Any questions?" Roy asked looking at every person seated at the table. "That covers everything for now so you're all dismissed, get to work."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

As the soldiers stood and began to make their way out of the command center, Riza pulled Fuery aside. "Can I have you take care of Black Hayate while I'm away on this mission?" Riza asked as her little dog sat patiently by her side.

"Of course." Fuery said enthusiastically.

"Thank you so much!" Riza said relieved. "Can I leave him with you now? I don't want him underfoot while Edward and I have to prepare to leave."

"No problem, I love the little guy and he'll help me keep my sanity while I train Sergeant Brosh." Fuery said taking Black Hayate's leash from Riza.

"Thank you, come by later today to grab his stuff if you can." Riza said with a smile.

"I will on my afternoon break." Fuery said then he and Black Hayate made their way up stairs.

Riza joined Edward and Havoc so that the three could make their way out to the general store. Havoc unlocked the door with the key that Roy had provided and the three walked inside the unlit shop. After a couple of moments of searching in the dark, Riza found the light switch, turning the lights on.

"Tent, sleeping bags, guns, ammunition, food, and fatigues." Havoc listed off items as he approached the shelves of supplies. "Anything else you can think of?"

"Matches." Riza said as she picked up a notepad off the counter and a pen. She quickly began to take notes of the supplies needed.

"Backpacks." Edward said as he leaned against the counter. "And I won't need a gun."

"You are carrying a gun, Edward. Even if you don't use it, I may need it." Riza said as she paused to look up from the pad of paper.

"Three guns?" Havoc asked as he pulled a large box off the shelf and set it on the counter.

"Four." Riza said as she resumed making notes on the pad. "Two guns for Fullmetal and two for me."

"I'll carry one." Edward said crossing his arms. "There's no reason for me to have two."

"Fine, three guns." Riza said with a sigh.

"I'm assuming that you have one with you then." Havoc said with a grin.

Riza smiled to herself. "I never leave home without one."

Havoc opened the box and unpacked three hand guns, placing each on the counter. When he was done he closed the box and pulled a box of ammunition off the shelf, setting it on the counter as well. "What else did I say you needed?" Havoc asked looking at Riza.

"Tent, sleeping bags-"

"One thing at a time." Havoc said cutting Riza off. "Fullmetal, be useful, help me find a box with a tent."

Edward sighed but joined Havoc shuffling through all the boxes, looking for one containing a tent. "I found sleeping bags." Ed said as he tossed a sleeping bag toward the counter, followed by the second.

"That's great." Riza marked them off her list. "It's not a tent though." Riza said as she smiled slyly at Edward.

Ed stuck his tongue out at Riza but went back to searching through the boxes.

"Found one!" Havoc yelled as he pulled a tent out of a box.

Riza marked it off the list. "Perfect."

"I found matches." Edward said as he dropped a handful of match boxes on the counter.

"That leaves backpacks, fatigues, and food." Riza said reading her list.

"I saw backpacks." Havoc said looking back through the last couple boxes. "Here we go." He said placing two on the counter.

"These boxes over here are labeled with our names." Edward said indicating a large stack of boxes towards the back of the shop.

"Open one." Havoc said as he moved closer to the alchemist.

Edward grabbed the box with his name on it and pulled it open. "There's fatigues, military uniforms, boots, and other clothes."

"Must be clothes in each person's size." Riza said as walked over to the two men.

Havoc pulled the box with his name on it toward him and opened it. "This is definitely my size." He said holding up a pair of fatigues. "They were nice enough to put cigarettes in here for me too!" Havoc said happily holding up the carton of cigarettes.

Riza rolled her eyes as she opened her box and pulled out the fatigues and other clothes inside. "Is there a way we can have you take these boxes to the house for us, Havoc?"

"Yeah, it will probably be tomorrow before I can do it since I have to sort through all these boxes."

"That's fine, we'll leave the house open." Riza said as she sat her items on the counter. "Now we just need some rations." Riza began packing things into her backpack.

Edward joined her at the counter and began to pack as well while Havoc searched for the rations. Havoc found them and brought the box to the counter. "You have a preference on which rations you get?"

"I don't care, it's all horrible." Riza said with a frown.

"It's six meals at most, so I won't be picky." Edward said with a shrug.

"Give us an extra day's worth of meals, please." Riza said as she and Ed finished putting the supplies, minus the sleeping bags, into their bags.

"Why do we need to carry that much extra food?" Edward asked as he took the food rations from Havoc.

"Always better to be prepared." Havoc said as he handed Riza her share of the rations.

"We need water canteens and a pot to boil water in." Riza said as she finished packing all her food rations.

"I'll grab those." Havoc said as he started searching through boxes again. After a couple of minutes, Havoc brought four canteens and a small pot to the counter. "Alright, I think that should be everything you need."

"It is." Riza said as she put the remaining items in her bag. "Thanks so much Havoc."

"No problem. Let me know if you need anything else."

"We will." Edward said as he pulled on the backpack and picked up the two sleeping bags.

Riza took the lead with Ed in tow out the door to the house they shared. They dumped everything in the living room and took seats on the sofa.

"So what's the plan for tomorrow?" Edward asked breaking the silence.

"Well if my studies of Creta are correct then I believe that there is a little village, one day's journey from the border." Riza said as she pulled her boots off.

"So we head directly west?" Edward asked as he propped his feet on the coffee table. "I'm assuming you want to leave at dawn."

Riza smiled. "You got it."

The two lapsed into silence, staring straight ahead while remaining motionless.

"You want lunch?" Riza asked breaking the silence as she stood.

"Actually I think I'm going to head over to the library. I want to see if it's collection is adequate or if I need to request books." Edward said as he looked up at Riza.

"Okay, I'll prepare a plate you can reheat later." Riza said with a smile.

"That's okay, you don't have to go through all the trouble." Edward said standing up and stretching.

"Okay, have a good time at the library." Riza said turning away from Ed to walk towards the kitchen. She heard the sound of Edward leaving as she leaned against the kitchen counter. "What do I want for lunch?" Riza asked herself as she blew her bangs out of her eyes.

There was a knock at the front door interrupting her thoughts. "Must be Fuery." Riza mumbled as she went to the front door. She opened the door to find it wasn't Fuery on the other side but Rebecca.

"Hey, girl!" Rebecca said embracing Riza. "I thought I would come see you during my lunch break."

"Black Hayate isn't here, do you still want to see me?" Riza asked with a smile, teasing her best friend.

Rebecca pretended to be disappointed. "But I use you as an excuse to come see the dog."

"You'll have to settle for me today." Riza said stepping out of the way so Rebecca could come in. "How long do you have for lunch?"

"General Armstrong was nice enough to give me one hour."

"That is nice." Riza said as she made her way back to the kitchen with Rebecca in tow. "How about sandwiches for lunch?"

"Whatever you're making, I'm eating." Rebecca said as she took a seat on the counter.

"Get off my counter." Riza said as she set to work making lunch.

Rebecca ignored Riza. "So what's it like living with The Fullmetal Alchemist?"

Riza was shocked by the question and dropped the knife in her hand on the floor. "Umm… it's alright." Riza said with a shrug as she bent down to retrieve the knife.

"You sharing a bed?" Rebecca asked with a smirk.

Riza put the dirty knife in the sink and got a clean knife from the drawer. "You're awfully nosy today."

"Is that a yes?" Rebecca asked wagging a finger at Riza.

"What makes you think we are sharing a bed?"

"There's only one bedroom, right?"

Riza looked up from the sandwiches. "How did you know?"

"Same situation." Rebecca said with a shrug. "I'm assuming it's like that for all of us."

"So are you and Breda sharing a bed?" Riza asked as she turned to look at her friend.

"No." Rebecca said with a frown as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"You sound disappointed about this." Riza said as she stepped closer to Rebecca.

"I finally found a good man and he's a gentleman!" Rebecca said with a sigh. "He sleeps on the couch and let me have the bed."

"You're complaining because you're not sharing a bed with Breda?" Riza asked skeptically.

"He's great, Riza! He's smart, funny, a gentlemen, and good looking." Rebecca said with a smile. "I can't believe that all those times I asked you to help me find a man and you never set me up with Heymans."

"I didn't think he was your type." Riza said as she returned to making lunch.

"He's great, we've spent a lot of time talking and we have so much in common."

Riza picked up the two plates off the counter and made her way into the dining room. "You've spent how many days with him and you've already decided he's the one for you?"

"I didn't say he was the one for me." Rebecca said jumping off the counter to follow Riza. "I was just saying he's a great guy and I can't believe you didn't send him my way sooner." Rebecca sat down at the table across from Riza. "I think things could really work out between us, then I can't quit being a soldier and be a wife."

Riza took a bite of her sandwich. "I get it alright."

"We have a date tonight." Rebecca said with a smile.

Riza laughed. "Where's he taking you to the General Store?"

"Actually we're going on a picnic." Rebecca said before she took a bite of her sandwich.

"You know if you get caught dating Breda that you can both be court-martial." Riza said with a frown.

"If things get serious than I will be quitting the military."

"What if things don't work out then you're left jobless and loveless."

"Aren't you so hopeful."

"I'm trying to be realistic about this."

"Does this mean you're not dating Mr. Elric?" Rebecca asked with raised brows.

"Of course I am not dating Edward." Riza said with a frown.

"I'm not the only one that wants to get together with a good soldier, did you know that General Armstrong is together with her Major?" Rebecca said with a sly smile.

Riza was shocked. "General Armstrong would never jeopardize her career for a boyfriend."

"Husband."

"What?"

A huge smile spread across Rebecca's face. " I heard from a Briggs soldier that the two have tied the knot."

"I find that hard to believe." Riza said as she finished her sandwich. "If anyone found out the two would be court-martial."

"Soldiers have already found out and the two have yet to be charged with fraternization."

"Yet," Riza said shaking her head. "If one of the other Generals finds out then their careers are over."

"I'm pretty sure General Grumman knows." Rebecca said as she finished her lunch.

"I'm pretty sure this is all gossip." Riza said standing and gathering the dishes off the table.

Rebecca shook her head and knew she had to change the subject. "Since you've completely rejected the Flame Alchemist are you going to date the Fullmetal Alchemist?"

"It's fraternization." Riza said as she placed the dishes in the sink and began to clean up.

"That's not an answer." Rebecca said as she followed Riza.

"We are not dating." Riza said as turned to face her friend. "And just because we're on this useless mission doesn't mean you should be putting your job in jeopardy."

"I'm not putting my job in jeopardy." Rebecca said shaking her head. "You need to lighten up, your prince charming is probably right in front of you and you don't even realize it."

"The only one in front of me is you, Rebecca, and I know you're not my prince charming." Riza said crossing her arms across her chest.

"I'm not going to argue with you about this. I just wanted you to be happy for me and I'm just trying to help make you happy too."

"I don't need a man to be happy."

"Okay." Rebecca said raising her hands defensively. "I'm just going to go back to work. I'll show myself out." Rebecca turned and left the kitchen.

Riza paused in her cleaning to listen to the front door slam close. She sighed and sat on the counter; she hated when Rebecca started in about getting herself a man, it always ended with her trying to tell Riza she needed a man. "I don't need a man." Riza muttered shaking her head. "I need a new best friend." Riza joked to herself as she got off the counter and resumed cleaning.

Riza spent most of the rest of the day cleaning up the house and preparing to leave. Edward returned just as Riza was turning in for the night, the two said little before going to sleep for the night, they had a long day ahead of them tomorrow.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Riza awoke early in the morning, before the sun light had a chance to illuminate the bedroom. Fatigue wore on Riza, as she had failed to get a good nights sleep, but she dressed in her fatigues and put her guns in the holsters. She sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her combat boots on. With a yawn, Riza stood, grabbed her backpack off the floor, and walked out of the bedroom. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Edward tying his boots, his bare chest exposed to her vision. He was muscular and his skin was flawless except the scaring around his automail arm.

"What are you staring at?" Edward asked roughly without looking up.

Riza shook her head only just realizing that she had spent the last few moments staring. "I was just staring off into space, trying to remember if I have everything."

"Right." Edward said standing and pulling on his black tank top.

Riza ignored Edward as she stepped into the living room. "You have everything?"

"Yep." Edward said pulling on his fatigue coat. "I'm ready when you are." He said as he picked up his backpack.

"Ready." Riza said then lead the way out of the house.

The two walked silently through the little village and headed into the forest. The sun rose slowly behind the two as they walked west. As the sun gained height in the sky the two soldiers made their way farther into the forest, putting distance between them and the village.

Finally Edward broke the silence. "It's hot, how much farther?"

Riza laughed from in front of him. "It's not even noon, we've got a long way to go."

"Of course." Edward said as he continued behind Riza.

"Late this afternoon we should find the Creta town." Riza said over her shoulder.

"Let's hope it hasn't started raining by then." Edward said with a sigh.

Riza looked up at the empty blue sky. "There's not a cloud in the sky, it's not going to rain today."

Edward frowned as he adjusted his backpack. "My ports are already aching, it's going to rain."

"Are you sure your ports aren't aching because you're not use to carry all the extra weight on your back?" Riza said as she paused and waited for Edward to catch up with her.

"This is defiantly the ache from approaching rain." Edward said as he stopped next to Riza. "Want to make a bet about who's right?" Edward asked with a smirk.

"I'm not making a bet over whether or not it's going to rain." Riza said as she resumed her pace.

"You know you'll lose." Ed said as he followed Riza.

"That doesn't matter to me," Riza said shaking her head. "I just don't want to think about getting rain on."

"We'll have to make camp early," Edward said softly causing Riza to stop so she could hear him over the sound of her footsteps. "If the storm is really bad I'm going to be in so much pain I'll be sick."

"Rain is that bad for you?" Riza asked taken aback.

"Rain, hail, sleet, or snow." Ed said with a shrug. "That's how it is for a lot of people with automail."

"That must make life very difficult." Riza said as she resumed walking, but at a slower pace to accommodate Ed.

"Actually, it's nice to have a reliable source of predicting the weather." Edward said with a shrug as he walked next to Riza.

"You didn't seem to be bothered by the rain on the train ride from Central to West City."

"Actually I ached a great deal but there was no use complaining about it then." Edward said with a shrug.

"True." Riza nodded to herself. "So at what point should we make camp?" Riza asked glancing side ways at Ed.

"Before it starts raining." Edward said with a smirk.

Riza rolled her eyes, "Of course, you're not going to want to set up the tent in the rain."

"What? I'm not setting up the tent by myself." Edward yelled.

"Calm down, don't yell." Riza said trying to stifle a laugh. "I was only kidding. I'll help you set up the tent."

"More like you'll be setting up the tent by yourself." Ed said sticking out his tongue.

Riza ignored Ed as she continued walking. The two lapsed back into silence for a long moment as Riza gazed into the sky, looking for any sign of a change of the weather. She saw a single white cloud drifting through the sky but that hardly seemed like a sign of rain.

Edward interrupted Riza's thoughts. "Care to continue our line of questions we started in the hotel room?"

"Why not?" Riza asked rhetorically. "It will give us something to talk about."

"Who goes first?" Edward asked as he stepped over a fallen tree.

"You can ask first." Riza said as she followed Ed over the log.

"Okay…" Edward said as he pondered. "Is Riza short for something?"

"Riza is short for Elizabeth." Riza said with a small smile. "I was named after my grandmother."

"I like the name Elizabeth." Edward said as he turned to look at Riza. "How come you don't use it all the time?"

"My grandfather called me Riza while my grandmother was still alive, after she passed away everyone still called me Riza. I never saw a reason to use my full name, even the military only knows me as Riza Hawkeye." She shrugged her shoulders as she followed the Edward around a dense grouping of trees.

Edward paused so that she could catch up. "Is that why Elizabeth is you're code name?"

"I thought this was supposed to be one question at a time not an interrogation. " Riza said as she caught up to Ed.

"Sorry," he said quickly as a red blush crept over his cheeks.

"Relax, I was just joking with you." Riza said with a smile. "Because the military doesn't know my full name, it makes it a convenient code name, without thinking I respond." Riza felt a cool breeze on her face as she spoke. "So is it my turn to ask a question then?"

"Yes," Edward said simply as he adjusted his backpack.

Riza was quiet for a moment as she choose a question. "Why are you staying a state alchemist? Your brother has his body back, wasn't that your only goal in the military?"

Edward sighed deeply and stopped walking. Riza turned around to look at him, seeing that he was gazing up at the sky. There was a long moment of silence before Ed replied, "I'm not much good at anything besides alchemy, what other job could I do?" Edward tore his gaze from the sky and looked at Riza.

"You're very smart, I think you could do anything that you set your mind to."

With a laugh, Edward shook his head, "I'm only smart when it comes to alchemy. All I'll ever be is an alchemist and the only alchemist that make any money are state alchemist."

Riza started at Ed for a long moment, "I think you have another reason to stay in the military."

Edward was taken aback. "What other reason could I have? I no longer need the military's information to find a philosopher's stone, I've restored Alphonse." Ed shook his head again and resumed walking. "My turn to ask a question?" He asked as he moved past Riza along the trail.

Riza knew this was Edward's way of saying they were through with the subject. "Yes, it is." Riza said as she followed behind him.

"Do you want to do anything with your life besides be committed to the military?"

"I would love to be married and have kids one day." Riza said with a shrug.

Edward was surprised, "how many kids?"

Riza laughed at his shock. "At least one, maybe two or three. I hadn't really put a lot of thought into the exact number. What about you? Do you want to have kids?"

"Well yeah," Edward said as he moved closer to Riza as the path narrowed around them, the forest thickening. "I would like the chance to be a better father than my own."

Riza sighed, "I definitely want to be a better parent than my father." A darkness pasted over the two and Riza looked up to see an ominously black cloud overhead. "How many kids do you want?"

"Six."

"Six!" Riza said shocked. "Six?"

Edward laughed at the look of shock on Riza's face. "I would like to have a large family."

"Yes, but six kids?" Riza asked still shocked.

"I don't ever want my kids to go through what Alphonse and I did." Edward said softly. "It was hard to grow up just the two of us as each other's only family."

"At least you weren't an only child." Riza said in a whisper as she looked down at her boots. "My mother died when I was an infant and I didn't have the best relationship with my father, he died when I was fifteen. The only family I had left was my mother's father and we have not exactly been close. I was on my own since then."

"Your grandfather is General Grumman, right?"

Riza sighed deeply. "He is."

"Did you live with him after your father passed?" Edward asked curiously.

"No, I enlisted."

"Enlisted in the military? At fifteen?" Edward asked shocked as the two stooped to avoid some low hanging branches.

"Yes."

"But you were only fifteen?"

Riza smiled. "It was only two months until I turned sixteen, on my birthday I enlisted."

Edward couldn't help but laugh. "Really on your birthday?"

Riza smiled. "Yes, on my birthday."

Another dark cloud passed over the two soldiers and Riza felt a cool breeze rustle her hair. Riza moved her bangs out of her eyes and looked up at the sky, it was noticeably darker due to more rain clouds covering the blue. There was a faint smell of rain on the wind and Riza knew that they would have to find shelter soon.

"We better find some where to set up camp." Riza said with a sigh.

"I would be happy to." Edward said as he paused to rub his shoulder port.

"Where is the question." Riza said stopping to look around.

"Where ever there's room to set up the tent." Edward said as he massaged his leg port.

Riza motioned for Edward to follow her off the trail. The two traipsed through the underbrush for ten minutes until they came across a small clearing, just large enough for the tent.

"Let's set up here." Riza said as she took her backpack off.

The two quickly set up their tent all the while the sky grew steadily darker and the wind picked up.

"We're done." Riza said as she picked up her bag and tossed it in the tent. She grabbed Ed's bag and tossed it in the tent too. "After you." Riza said holding the tent flap open.

"Shouldn't we eat first?"

"Inside we can." Riza said motioning for Edward to go in the tent.

Ed stood still and cocked his head in confusion. "We can't light a fire in the tent."

"We're not going to." Riza said frowning impatiently at the alchemist. "Get in or you're going to be soaking wet in a minute."

Edward hurried into the tent followed closely by Riza who secured the door of the tent closed. No sooner had the two sat down then it started to pour rain outside.

"I guess this is when I get to say 'I told you it would rain'." Edward said with a smirk.

"Shut up." Riza said as she pulled off her boot and threw it at Ed.

Laughing, Ed caught her boot and set it aside. "Okay, okay. I won't say 'I told you so'."

Riza just rolled her eyes and pulled off her other shoe. "I'm not sharing dinner with you if you don't stop saying 'I told you so'."

"That's okay I don't think I can eat anyway." Edward said as he pulled his blanket from his backpack. He spread it on the ground and laid down.

"You're ports must be really bothering you if you're turning down dinner." Riza said as she pulled her own blanket out of her backpack to spread out.

Edward nodded and rolled over to face the wall of the tent. "How long do you think it will rain?"

Riza was silent for a moment listening to the sound of the rain hitting the tent. "Let's hope it stops before morning." Riza pulled out a box of crackers and some beef jerky. "Are you sure that you don't want to eat?"

"I'm sure ." Edward mumbled as he rubbed his shoulder. "Mind if I take my shirt off?"

Riza was caught off guard by the question and dropped the cracker she was about to eat. "Umm..no…go ahead."

Edward sat up and pulled off his off his shirt. "Good night, Riza." Ed said as he crumpled up his shirt and used it as a pillow.

Riza glanced at Ed, admiring the muscles along his back, as she picked up her cracker from her lap. "Good night, Edward."


End file.
